If you’re looking for a fast, as-is home sale, you’ve likely seen bright yellow signs or ads featuring a cartoon caveman proclaiming, “We Buy Ugly Houses!” It’s perhaps the most recognized cash-for-homes brand in the country. But is it right for your situation?
In this post, we’ll provide real We Buy Ugly Houses reviews and insights into this national house-buying company. We’ll also share what you can expect and alternatives so you can compare cash offers.
Get an all-cash, no-obligation offer in 24 hours through HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform and close in as few as 7 days. You can also compare the offer with an estimate from a top agent.
What is the history behind We Buy Ugly Houses?
The concept for the We Buy Ugly Houses brand was born in the late 1980s. Dallas real estate agent Ken D’Angelo came up with the idea to build a network of buyer-investors to help homeowners sell unwanted, worn-down, and hard-to-sell properties, which are often not very attractive.
Ten years later, D’Angelo founded HomeVestors, a company that provided all-cash offers to homeowners. The idea of a fast, judgment-free way to sell a house resonated with consumers who owned distressed homes. No repairs, no agent fees, no hassles.
Thanks to its iconic advertising campaign and caveman mascot (Ug), HomeVestors became known as the We Buy Ugly Houses people. There are now over 1,100 independently owned and operated franchises across the United States.
We Buy Ugly Houses reviews
In this section, we’ll provide a snapshot of We Buy Ugly Houses reviews and customer ratings taken from the company’s Dallas, Texas (HomeVestors) headquarters Better Business Bureau page and its Google customer reviews page.
However, when evaluating We Buy Ugly Houses reviews, it’s important to keep in mind that each location can have its own BBB or Google customer feedback pages. The reviews you see for one location may be very different from the reviews about another location.
Better Business Bureau reviews: HomeVestors’ headquarters holds an A+ BBB rating and is a BBB-accredited business. However, the company only has 1.32 stars out of 5 stars on the headquarters ratings page. Many of its local offices are independently accredited by the BBB and hold higher BBB customer scores.
Google customer reviews: We Buy Ugly Houses and HomeVestors’ overall Google customer reviews rating is higher, at 3.4 stars out of 5 stars. Again, with 1,100 independently owned franchises, the location near you may have a different customer rating.
Below are short snippets from the company’s Dallas, Texas headquarters BBB and Google reviews pages. HomeVestors also hosts customer reviews and testimonials on its We Buy Ugly Houses website.
5-star positive review snippets
- Kudos to the entire organization for bringing professionalism, integrity, and trust into a business that — by and large, outside of HomeVestors — lacks honesty, transparency, and accountability to the customer.
- This company is phenomenal, to say the least. Best process to close on a house fast and with a great, trustworthy team at the same time.
- I was able to sell my property quickly and easily…Thanks again for all your help.
- HomeVestors does a great job of helping people out of an ugly situation with their house.
- What I like best about HomeVestors is their philosophy of putting the customer first by helping the customer make the best decision based on their personal situation.
- HomeVestors is a great solution for someone needing to sell their home. I would recommend that you at least give them consideration when looking for a solution outside of a realtor.
- [The representative] who came to my house was up front and honest with me and my wife. He did not pressure us to sell our house to them…very professional about the whole ordeal.
- I did business with one of the franchisees and had a great experience…He kept his word, and so did we.
- Great company, great people. All the people I have dealt with are great, and you can trust they will do what they say.
- Our [We Buy Ugly Houses franchisee] is very kind, extremely helpful, and very patient. Even with all of the hiccups that happened during the process, he never made me feel rushed or pressured.
1-star negative review snippets
- The [franchisee] with HomeVestors made an offer on our home and assured us they wouldn’t back out, and at 5 pm the day before closing, they called and cancelled the contract.
- Very disappointed in their attempt to lowball me on my house with unreasonable and inaccurate repair costs.
- They keep sending me junk postcards about selling our home (which we purchased within the past 6 months). We get them almost weekly.
- Their offer was $60,000 less than any other offer I received.
- This company sends mail that is unmarked to trick me into opening junk mail..Leave me alone.
- I kept our appointment for 9:00 AM and waited for one hour and ten minutes…no one from this company ever met or attempted to contact me.
- Trying to lowball buy my house because I live in an economically disadvantaged area. Stay away from these people.
- I keep receiving letters from HomeVestors about buying my deceased father’s and my home. My home is not for sale. I want them to stop sending me any correspondence.
- I am so tired of these people wanting me to sell my house; it is not for sale. I have tried opting out several times, but that doesn’t seem to make a difference… they still keep bothering me.
- I have been asking this business to remove my name and address from their files for over 3 years. The business has consistently failed to comply with my request.
